Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Two On Earth, Five Together


This morning marks the third anniversary of my husband's passing from pancreatic cancer. Irv took his last breath at 9:23 AM on November 30, 2019 as I held him, and it feels like only yesterday that he left us and went on ahead. To say that life without my soulmate is difficult is understating things and then some. I loved Irv more than life itself, and it is difficult to wrap my mind around the idea of years of life without him. Surviving without him is still hard work, and flourishing is probably not in the cards.

For many years, I was married to a guy with a razor-sharp mind, a dry wit, a fine sense of irony and a great laugh. The natural world was an endless source of delight to him, and he never wearied of its grandeur and its beauty. He was passionate about trees, rocks and rivers, fields and fens, birds, bugs and woodland critters, sunrises and sunsets, full moons and starry nights. He loved his tribe fiercely and unconditionally.

He loved rambling, and ramble we did by golly, hand in hand and all over the place, packs on our backs, notebooks in our pockets, a camera around my neck and our beloved doggy sidekicks trotting along with us. I could not have had a more wonderful companion if I had written him into being myself, and I simply could not believe my good fortune. I look back on our life together with amazement and gratitude.

Now it is Beau and I who wander through the great wide world together, in the flesh anyway. Cassie and Spencer, traveled beyond the fields we know long ago, but they are right here with Irv, and all three are walking along in the woods with us. There will be five of us on the snowbound trail this winter, but three of us will not need parkas and snowshoes or leave paw prints in the white stuff. There is a small measure of comfort in knowing that we will walk these hallowed hills together forever. A fine untrammeled wildness dwells in our blood and bones, all of us.

7 comments:

Pienosole said...

❤️

Mystic Meandering said...

❤️ - sending you heart vibrations

Kameshwari said...

This is an absolutely heartwarming tribute to the companion who rambled with you.

Sending heartfelt love care to the memory shared here.

Beth Owl's Daughter said...

Warm hugs, quiet listening, and a cuppa. And lots and lots of love.

Plus a little selfish gratitude you are still on this side with us, hard as it is, I know.

Marsha said...

Yes, you walk together . . .

Jennifer said...

I love the image of the five of you still rambling together! Your loved ones who have gone on before will never be truly gone. xx

Karen Hall said...

Gentle hugs 💕